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New Seaclipper 20

Multihulls make great camp cruisers… in theory. In practice, they are expensive and complex, cumbersome to launch and trailer, and just plain awkward in a monohull oriented environment. Until now. Jim Brown and his long time collaborator, Ron Marples, have at last created the VW microbus of multihulls - the new Seaclipper 20. The boat is simple to build, robust, a snap to rig and launch, safe, comfy and yes… even fast!

A standard used beach cat rig keeps the cost down and the performance up, and finally, a standard 7’ square dome tent converts the boat into a luxurious camp site! I am SO happy to see a new trimaran design that isn’t all carbon fiber and made in China.

Plans available at Searunner.com. Via SmallTrimarans.

Astus Trimarans

Chantier Astusboats in France is producing a range of small trimarans that appear to successfully navigate the conflicting and dangerous shoals inherent in small boat design, especially multihulls. The boats are compact, simple, speedy, trailerable, comfortable, cruiseable, and even competitively priced! Thanks to Laurie McGowan for the heads up.

The Astus 20.1 was introduced in 2004 at the Salon de la Rochelle as a suitable vehicle for camp cruising, treks and raids. Since then they've expanded the range with a 14, 16, and a new 22 footer, so they seem to be on to something.



Astusboats makes good use of the Goldilocks Principle, neither too big or too small, too slow or too fast. Their tris are not full-on, fly the main hull affairs, but sport relatively low buoyancy amas and narrow over all sailing beam, yet still remain quite fast. The main hull resembles a planing dinghy, with relatively flat and wide sections. Interestingly, the 16.1 features low aspect ratio mini-keels on the amas which keeps the central hull as open as possible and allows the boat to sit upright on the beach. The other models use the more traditional center hull daggerboard. Besides the standard high roach and full battened main and furling jib, sail options include a furling gennaker and asymmetric spinnaker. The boats use a simple sliding tube mechanism to retract the beam to legal width, and thanks to their light weight, are towable by even the smallest Renault.

I have only one complaint: Astusboats are not imported into the States. UK agent: Ex Aqua. More pictures and video after the jump.

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The Spark

Spark is from the drawing board of Richard Newick - which he describes as a "three-hulled Rozinante", and I couldn't agree more. It's as if the spark of Herreshoff's inspiration was passed along and reinterpreted through Newick, resulting in this outstandingly elegant trimaran. These images are of Jim Conlin's Damfino, launched last June in Westport Point, MA. She seems a perfect steed for sailing the coast, perhaps tilting at a few windmills along the way. The Man of La Mancha rides again!

More tri porn after the jump.

LOA: 27' 11"
LWL: 27' 4"
BOA: 22' 5"
Draft: 1' 3" (6' board down)
Sail Area: 350 sq. ft.
Displacement: 3000 lbs.
Bruce No.: 1.3

Images via the Woodenboat Forum

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Slider

Multihull beach cruisers are something I spend a little too much of my time thinking about, and it’s nice to discover kindred spirits. Ray Aldridge of Florida has progressed considerably beyond the thinking stage and built one of the sweetest little beach cruisers I’ve ever seen. Slider is well named, squeezing between the fantasy island of sailing nirvana and the rocks of economic/bureaucratic reality.

First off, the boat fits inside the magical 16’ x 8’ envelope, getting the max out of 2 sheets of plywood and the legal trailering width. No fancy folding or sliding parts, the boat is nearly as easy to launch as a Sea Doo. The sprit rig suits the realities of trailer life as well, giving a short and easily stepped mast, and spars that fit tidily on the trailer - which BTW - can be any old beach cat hauler, no assembly required.

The boat is set up perfectly for a pair of sailors, each with their own official cockpit and cupholder. The bridge deck is literally a wood deck, with space for the cooler, crab pot, tent, and the occasional sunbathing mermaid.

The single, off-center daggerboard is all that’s required of a boat designed to view hull flying with suspicion; an unlikely event considering the low and modest sail area. I love the boarding ladder hinging off the forward crossbeam, good for both surf and turf.

Slidercat.com



Slider in Light Air
Upwind in Slider
Slider Goes to Navarre Beach

LOA: 16’
Weight: 480 lbs.
Draft: 11“
Sail Area: 140 sq. ft.

Edel 4XCat 33

The Jan/Feb 2008 issue of Multihulls World includes a boat test of the Edel 4XCat 33 from ADN, which I happen to like quite a lot. The ADN design team is seeking that sweet spot between performance daysailer and luxury cruiser - a performance cruiser. It's a niche currently dominated by folding trimarans and its nice to see this creative catamaran version. More pics after the jump.

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